Smack at the intersection of Lafayette and Canal Streets, this downtown Manhattan hotel sits on the boundary between Chinatown and the hip shops and galleries of SoHo. Little Italy's restaurants are just a 5-minute walk. Pizza fans take note: Lombardi's, reportedly the nation's first pizzeria, is less than a 10-minute stroll.
After you've found food for your stomach, you can search out fodder for your soul. The New Museum in the (formerly debauched) Bowery neighborhood exhibits contemporary works from international artists, and is about 10 minutes on foot from Hotel Azure. Check out the award-winning building's playful, deliberately haphazard construction--then give it a push and see if it topples. For a vivid glimpse into the past, visit the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, a half-mile away, and tour the actual apartments where 19th-century immigrants lived and worked. Stroll a few more blocks to the heart of the Lower East Side for Jewish "soul food" at Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery, a New York classic. For outdoor fun, walk a half-mile to the Brooklyn Bridge and take in the views from the elevated pedestrian walkway--it's a 20-minute crossing for peds, but the panoramic sights guarantee you'll linger.
Manhattan's excellent public transport encourages going carless during your visit. In fact, the Canal Street subway station is just a half-block from Hotel Azure for easy access all around town. Want to try out that hot new eatery? The 24-hour front desk will help with dinner reservations and other concierge-type services. But if you'd rather eat in, many area restaurants will deliver right to your door.
The boutique-style Hotel Azure offers just 28 guestrooms, for a friendly, intimate ambiance. Rooms are smoke-free, compact, and contemporary, with all the "good stuff" you'll want after a full day of sightseeing. Stretch out on the pillowtop mattress and turn on the wall-mounted, flat-screen TV with premium cable channels (including HBO). Or open your laptop, hook up to the complimentary wireless Internet access, and email friends. Other thoughtful touches include ergonomic chairs at the desks and rainfall showerheads in the mosaic-tiled bathrooms.
